project update
Optimising regenerator of Stirling-
motor for micro-CHP
Challenge
Stirling based technology holds high promises
for the economic realisation of domestic Com-
bined Heat and Power (CHP) systems for com-
bined generation of electricity and heat. With
their typical electric power output of 1 kW,
such systems are named micro-CHP systems.
Already Robert Stirling realised the importance
of the regenerator for the efficiency of a closed
cycle Stirling engine. The design of the regen-
erator is vital to the design of an efficient and
thus economic Stirling engine.
Equipment
The free-piston vibrator generator is a modern
type of Stirling engine, in which helium gas is
compressed and expanded by an oscillating
system of masses and springs. The heart of the
engine is a closed helium-filled vessel with two
moving parts, the displacer and the power pis-
ton. The head of the vessel is heated from the
outside by combustion gases from a natural gas
Artist impression of modern Stirling engine for micro CHP
burner. This yields a typical wall temperature
of 600°C of the hot chamber, the gas space
enclosed by the head of the vessel and the
displacer. The cold chamber, enclosed by the
displacer and the piston, is water-cooled at a
temperature of typically 50°C. The power strike
is provided by the force enacted by the expand-
ing helium gas in the hot chamber on the
displacer, which is coupled to the power piston
by a gas spring. The displacer resonates virtually
frictionless at 50 Hz and serves to transfer ex-
panded hot helium gas from the hot chamber to
the cold chamber and compressed cold helium
back.
Nearly the whole of the temperature difference
between the hot space and the cold space appears
over the regenerator. To avoid wasting heat, the
heat leak across the regenerator must be small,
in spite of this large temperature difference.
The regenerator also must have a large heat
capacity, for it must absorb as much heat as
possible when the hot helium passes down-
wards toward the cold space. And on the way
back, it must yield up as much heat as possible
to the helium. The typical helium cooling
(heating) rate in the regenerator is about
20,000 degrees per second. Furthermore, the
pressure drop across the regenerator and the
gas volume of the regenerator must be low.
Regenerators are made of metal wire meshes or
other high-porosity materials.
Approach
The processes in the Stirling regenerator are
rather complicated, due to the combination of
transient nature of the flow and the anisotropy
of flow and heat transport. CFD modelling
techniques are able to capture both aspects and
to provide the necessary information on suc-
cessful possible ways to improve the design.

Computational mesh, with expansion side on
the left
A two-dimensional model suffices for repre-
senting the regenerator geometry (see figure.)
Concerning modelling of the physics, a stepwise
approach was followed with increasing com-
plexity, starting with stationary, isothermal cal-
culations and progressing to time dependent,
non-isothermal calculations. The latter com-
prises modelling of many complete cycles, be-
fore the stationary operational situation is
approached. The effect of the conduction in the
wall was determined by modelling adiabatic
walls and conductive walls.
Horizontal gas velocity (top) and pressure drop (bottom) for two radial flow resistance cases
(left, right)
About the author:
Michiel Houkema has been
working with NRG for five
years. After working on mod-
elling of species transport in
porous media, he shifted his
attention to CFD modelling of
coal combustion and design of
systems for sustainable energy generation and
energy efficiency. He is presently involved in
design of thermal acoustic cooling and Stirling
engines. Michiel holds an M.Sc. in Applied
Physics.
About NRG CAE’s group:
NRG’s Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) group has
successfully applied CAE technology for customers in
the power, offshore, petrochemical and machinery in-
dustries. The core competencies of the group are Struc-
Solution
The first calculations already gave insight into
the dead zones of the regenerator, thus provid-
ing a straightforward insight in how to reduce
the volume without the penalty of efficiency
loss (see top figure, the gas velocity is zero in
the white zones.) Subsequently, the effect of
anisotropic matrix material was investigated.
The figures show the horizontal gas velocity
(top) and the pressure drop (bottom) in the
regenerator for two different radial flow
resistances. This shows that the effect of
anisotropy and porosity can be large. The
project team was able to decide on the basis of
these results in which direction further material
development was desired. In addition, the
project provided justifications for the approxi-
mations to be made in engineering models.
tures-FEM, Processes-CFD and Design-CAD. The
expertise of the Processes-CFD team includes combus-
tion technology for gas turbines and coal burners,
separation and filtration processes, aerodynamic and
hydrodynamic design for valves and other components,
reactive systems, two phase systems. The Structures-
FEM team has proven expertise in design and analysis
of mechanical structures, simulation of metal forming
processes, pressure vessels, crash analyses and drop
tests and many other processes. NRG is a member of
the KEMA–ECN group of companies.
NRG can do more for you. Feel free to contact us about
the challenges you face. We will be glad to discuss what
CAE can do to aid your development.
Call Victor Wichers, telephone +31 224 564656 or
+31 6 511 523 84 (cellular); or send us an email at
wichers@nrg-nl.com. For more information visit
http://www.nrg-nl.com/product/ppt/cae.
B-01-017